Rain has a way of stripping everything down to what matters. That theme runs through every story in the Rainy Day Romance anthology, published by First Coast Romance Writers, and my fellow contributors delivered.

Leah Miles opens the collection with Nothing But the Rain, a tight contemporary romantic suspense. Dr. Ruthie Goodlander survived eight months in a Guatemalan village, only to end up in insurgents’ hands. Her rescuer? The one man she never expected. Miles builds tension cleanly, and the chemistry earns every page.

Madeline Fortier brings warmth and community to Spring Rain in Aspen Ridge. When storms flood a small-town festival, florist Wren Mallahan reluctantly partners with guarded rancher Cole Bennett. Fortier writes small-town Montana romance with genuine heart.
Vanessa Victoria Kilmer delivers Rain Go Away, a second-chance story with real emotional stakes. Cahala Goings returns home to sell inherited land and close a painful chapter. Hayden Sinclair, the boy she never forgot, has other ideas.

Elizabeth Edgar offers the sharpest banter in the collection with Rainy Days and Mondays. Rivals Ashanti and Trey are forced into an all-nighter, and what starts as mutual irritation becomes something neither planned.

Neri Lopez closes with Rain and Redemption, set aboard a high-stakes gambling ship. A guarded ex-CIA operative and a sharp-witted dealer collide in a story that is equal parts obsession and healing.

Five authors, six stories including mine, and every one of them brings something distinct to the rain.